Naru Wikia
Welcome to the Naru Wikia The Naru Project (www.thenaruproject.org) is an open-source community project focused on installing artificial wetlands in the Chicago River and rivers around the world. Our aim is to leverage our research in artificial wetlands to revitalize damaged rivers, enhance local ecosystems and improve the beautification of local river systems. Our research began in April 2013 and our wetland continues to thrive. We added our first DIY project, the 'Fitzcaraldo' a wetland built from recycled materials & some purchases, in order for our team to grow perennials and edibles for further research. Our aim here is to produce herbs (mint & oregano), tomatoes, cucumbers and habanero peppers to test the amount of contaminants and heavy metals exist in the plants. Describe your topic The Naru Project is opening it's research from a study executed through the University of Illinois and researched Josh Yellin. We want locals to be more aware of their river and bring communities back to the Chicago River and rivers around the world. At this point, we want to continue our DIY development of our 1st raft but also our 2nd DIY project the 'Honeycomb'. Latest activity DIY Honeycomb Project * Content ** After a meeting at Whole Foods asking for donated transplants for our DIY Project the 'Fitzcaraldo' we offered used/cleaned pickle buckets. At the moment, Nick and I couldn't come up for a need using their food grade buckets. After some thinking Nick took them home, looked at them and the 'Honeycomb' grow system had been created. They're modular, buoyant, plentiful and can have the depth to carry a large plant. * Drawings * Materials ** 5 Gallon Pickle Buckets ** 1 cubic foot of grow media (per bucket) * Sourcing ** Buckets *** Whole Foods/Grocery Chains, Food manufacturing facilities, restaurants *** * Build * Installation ** * Plants ** Volunteers *** Lycopus americanus *** Asclepias incarnate *** Impatiens pallida *** Rumex virticillatus? *** Scutellaria lateriflora *** Carex (I think grayii?) ** Purchased (DIY 'Fitzcaraldo') *** Cherry Tomatoes *** Mint **** Our 1st test is going decent but we can experiment a lot more ** TO BE RESEARCHED *** Cranberry *** Water Chestnut *** Camas *** Wild Rice *** Cornus canadensis - Creeping Dogwood **** Native of North America, this is a low-growing creeping plant. It does well on the drier edges of the bog garden, but it strongly dislikes chalky soils. The fruit is edible - it is said to have a pleasant though not very strong flavour *** Water mint (Mentha aquatica) **** This grows to about 1 meter (3.3 ft) in height. *** Kangkong (Ipomoea aquatica) **** This is water spinach. It grows best in the warm weather. *** Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) **** This will grow about 30 centimeter (11.8 in) to 1 meter (3.3 ft) leaves in summer and die back to a corm in winter. *** Water parsnip (Berula Erecta) **** This will grow 30 centimeter (11.8 in) to 1 meter (3.3 ft) in height and creeps. *** Lebanese Stonecress (Aehtionema Cordifolium) **** This grows to around 15 centimeter (5.9 in) and needs to be carefully kept under control to prevent it taking over the pond. *** Rainbow parsley (Oenanthe Javanica 'Pink Flamingo') **** This plant is a perennial. It grows 30 centimeter (11.8 in) in height and spreads. It has a carrot and celery taste and is great for salad and soup. It is important to be very sure that you have the right species, as some Oenanthe are poisonous. *** Taro (Colocasia Esculenta) **** known as "Elephant Ear". Both the corm and stem can be eaten; it must be cooked to destroy toxins present in its raw state. *** Begonias *** Chinese evergreen *** Coleus *** Croton *** Dracena *** Herbs, including mint, basil, oregano, lavender, rosemary, and sage *** Impatiens *** Ivy (any type) *** Philodendron *** Pothos *** Sweet potato vine *** Wandering Jew *** Northern wild rice (Zizania palustris) **** an annual plant native to the Great Lakes region and aquatic areas of the Boreal Forest regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Photos and videos are a great way to add visuals to your wiki. Find videos about your topic by exploring Wikia's Video Library.